A ruling that enabled Pittsburgh forward Cameron Johnson to transfer to North Carolina and have instant eligibility could have ramifications for Virginia.
According to a variety of sources, Wake Forest guard Keyshawn Woods has elected to play elsewhere as a graduate transfer and is considering UVa.
Woods, a 6-foot-3 guard from Gastonia, North Carolina, averaged 11.9 points this past season and was the Deacons’ second-leading scorer.
The Cavaliers added graduate transfer Nigel Johnson from Rutgers prior to the 2017-18 season, and Woods seemingly could fill a similar role, although at 6 foot 3, he’s three inches taller than Johnson.
Seemingly, Woods could take on some work taken on by fifth-year senior Devon Hall, who, at 6-5, drew a variety of defensive assignments.
A number of evaluators listed Hall as the top pro prospect during last weekend’s Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, held close to his Tidewater roots.
Woods began his career at Charlotte, the new home of former Virginia associate head coach Ron Sanchez. He averaged 8.4 points as a freshman, when he led Conference USA in 3-point shooting percentage, which has been his trademark.
The 247Sports website lists Louisville, Ohio State and Clemson among the teams that have also shown interest in Woods.
A precedent for ACC graduates to play immediately after transferring to another ACC school was set when Johnson went from Pittsburgh to North Carolina after the 2016-17 season.
Johnson, who graduated from Pitt in three years, had been redshirted earlier in his Panthers’ career. He will have a second year of eligibility at UNC following hip surgery Wednesday.
Recruiting
n The announcement that Virginia had hired Tina Thompson as its women’s basketball coach came one day after Samantha Brunelle from Greene County, just north of Charlottesville, had made an oral commitment to Notre Dame.
Brunelle, a 6-foot-2 junior who averaged 25 points and 15 rebounds this past season for William Monroe High School, is rated the No. 1 junior prospect in the country by ESPN.
n Men’s player Sacha Killeya-Jones, a 6-foot-10 Kentucky post man who had announced plans to transfer after his sophomore season, has issued a list that does not include Virginia, where he had once committed while at Virginia Episcopal in Lynchburg.
Killeya-Jones’ mother lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina .
The Tar Heels are on a list of his 10 possible destinations , along with N.C. State, Wake Forest, Clemson, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh from the ACC.
n Georgetown has landed Omer Yurtseven, a 7-foot transfer center from N .C. State, where he averaged 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds this past season.
Yurtseven, originally from Turkey, will be required to sit out the 2018-19 season.
Timesland ties
The second-leading scorer for the fourth-ranked Duke men’s lacrosse team, freshman attackman Joe Robertson, grew up playing the game in Salem before attending St. Anne’s-Belfield in Charlottesville.
Robertson is one of four lacrosse brothers that are playing or have played for Maryland, Princeton and UVa (after transferring from Colgate).
Clashing
Virginia Tech, which won its all-sports competition with Virginia on a tie-breaker last year, has taken a 8½-6½ lead in this year’s Commonwealth Clash following a weekend sweep of the Cavaliers in softball.